Deputy shooting in Moreno Valley may be linked to 2 earlier homicides

Authorities believe whoever shot a Riverside County sheriff's deputy in Moreno Valley on Tuesday also killed two people whose bodies were found earlier in the day.

The violence broke out Tuesday morning at a Shell gas station near Sunnymead Ranch Parkway and Old Lake Drive when witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots, the Riverside Press Enterprise reported.

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A deputy who responded to the call arrived and saw multiple people who may have been involved, Deputy Albert Munoz told KTLA.

A man who identified himself as Randy Greene told the station that his mother was killed with a high-powered rifle at the gas station. He said she was a grandmother and described her as a woman who was always willing to help others.

The deputy was shot, but has since been treated and released from the hospital, Munoz said.

Also on Tuesday, deputies found a body inside a home on Delphinium Avenue that was reportedly a relative of the gas station victim.

Munoz said the deputy shooting, gas station killing and body found inside the home were all possibly related.

Authorities have now narrowed their search for one or possibly two gunmen to the rural neighborhood and foothills off Pigeon Pass and Box Springs Mountain roads. They were being assisted by SWAT personnel in an armored vehicle.